


A Tale of Ravens

by azazelisawesome



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, No Smut, Not sure how much Vex is going to show up yet, Primarily focused on Vax and the RQ, Very very loosely inspired by Mirror of the Witch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 01:52:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13307901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azazelisawesome/pseuds/azazelisawesome
Summary: AU: When Vex dies in a tragic accident, Vax offers himself to the Raven Queen in trade for her life. Expecting to die, Vax is surprised when the goddess whisks him away to her home deep in the forest. He can't leave, and must work for her until he dies. It seems like a pretty grim situation...until things take a turn for the unexpected.





	1. Vax, Meet Death

Of all the things that could have killed his sister, it was one random trap. 

Vax and Vex had spent the day hunting, partly so that they would have something to eat that night and partly so that Vex could try out her new bow that Vax had “acquired” from a shop in the nearest town. A few rabbits later, the twins had swung the animals over their shoulders and were cheerily walking through the forest, chatting aimlessly. 

“This bow is definitely stronger than my last one,” Vex declared, running her fingers down her new weapon lovingly. She looked over to her brother with a grin. “Thanks, bro!” 

“Hey, I just didn’t want to keep going hungry,” Vax said with a matching smile, which earned him an elbow in the sternum. “Oof! No need to get violent, sister,” he mumbled, rubbing the sore spot in an exaggerated way. 

Vex winked at him before trotting off ahead. “It’s your own fault for—”

That’s when it happened. 

Suddenly, the ground broke below her feet. With a startled yell, Vex’ahlia dropped straight down. There was a splush sound. 

Frozen in place, Vax stared at the spot where his sister had stood for a few seconds, before his brain finally started working again. “Vex!” he cried, racing forward to the edge of the hole and looking down into it. 

His heart stopped. 

Within this pit, which had clearly been intended as a trap for some sort of animal, were large wooden spikes. On one of these spikes was his sister, the wood driven through her chest. 

Her eyes were open. She wasn’t moving. 

“VEX!” Vax jumped down into the pit, barely missing one of the other pikes as he went. Frantically hurrying over to his sister, he clutched at the back of her body and pushed upward. It took several attempts, but he was able to get her off the spike. Vax felt his stomach heave as blood and several, more solid objects slid out of the gaping wound in Vex’s chest. “It’s fine. You’ll be fine,” he muttered under his breath, only partially aware that he was speaking. “I’ve got you. I’m here.” 

Vax carefully laid his sister on the ground beside the pit before climbing out of it himself and kneeling beside her. Her eyes stared into the sky without moving, and her expression was blank. 

“No,” Vax said, a sob crawling up his throat. “No, this isn’t—no, you can’t—” His vision blurred as tears started falling down his cheeks. “No no no no no…” Wrapping his arms around Vex’s body, Vax pulled her tight to him and began to sob in earnest. “Please. Please don’t. Please.” 

The forest was silent—no birds chirped, no insects buzzed. With despair beginning to overwhelm him, it took Vax a few moments for that information to sink in. 

The forest was silent? The forest was never silent. 

…and why was it getting so cold?

Vax looked up from Vex’s body—and came face to face with a white mask. He yelled out in surprise and nearly fell into the pit behind him, just managing to catch himself in time. As Vax attempted to breathe normally again, he stared at the newcomer. 

Standing about two feet away from him was a woman. She wore a long black dress laced with black feathers, the skirt of which cascaded down onto the forest floor. Her matching black hair rippled down the sides of her face and neck before flowing onto the dress. Instead of a bare face, there was a white featureless mask. It even blocked her eyes from view, leaving Vax with the strong feeling that he was staring at a statue. 

The woman bent down in such an unnatural way that Vax knew with certainty that she could not be entirely mortal. Her body twisted oddly as she lowered herself until she and Vax were on the same level. She said nothing. 

“Who…are…you?” Vax whispered, not quite able to operate his vocal cords. 

The newcomer cocked her head to the side. It was such a sharp angle that Vax felt certain anyone else would have broken their neck if they’d tried that. 

Finally, she spoke, and her voice also came out as a whisper. 

“I am the Matron of Ravens,” she said, and Vax felt the temperature around him drop another ten degrees. “and I am here to take her soul to the other side.” 

She gestured slowly towards Vex’ahlia, and Vax’s stomach tightened in fear. The Matron of Ravens. He didn’t know much about the local gods, but even he had heard of her. Most people called her the Raven Queen. Some just called her Death. 

Vax tightened his grip on his sister’s body. “You can’t have her,” he said—still unable to get his voice above a whisper. 

The Raven Queen extended her hand towards the two of them, and Vax recoiled. “You don’t have a choice,” she replied. Her voice was ice cold. 

As the goddess’ hand grew closer and closer, Vax’s mind raced, frantically trying to think of how to stop her. He had his daggers—but they probably wouldn’t even scratch her. And Vex was too heavy to pick up and run away with. 

The hand was inches away from Vex’s body when Vax said, finally in more than a whisper this time: “Take me instead.” 

The Matron of Ravens paused. The mask turned to fully face Vax. 

“Take me instead,” he repeated bitterly, glaring at her. “You raven bitch.” 

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Then the Raven Queen shifted her hand away from Vex and towards him instead. Heart pounding, Vax stayed perfectly still as an ice-cold hand landed on his cheek. He stared straight into the blank eyes of the mask, trying to convey his resolve. 

“Very well,” the Matron whispered. 

Vex’ahlia gasped suddenly, causing Vax to jump. He looked down at his sister in numb disbelief—the wound was gone. Vex was breathing, and coughing, and looking around with wide eyes, and alive. 

“Vax!” she said through her coughs. “Vax, what ha—” Vex cut off her own sentence, and Vax could see her eyes widen further as she looked at him, then the masked woman, trying to understand the scene above her. “What’s going on?” Vex asked, her voice apprehensive. 

Vax just smiled at her, feeling a sob rising in his chest again. Relief filled him, quickly followed by grim understanding of what he had just done. It’s worth it, he thought, looking down at his living, breathing sister. At least she’ll be alive. 

“I’m sorry,” Vax said, his voice breaking. “I love you.” 

Vex’s eyes widened further, and she struggled to sit up. “Vax, what did you do?”

Vax opened his mouth to answer, when he felt an icy hand touch the back of his neck. 

Then it was only darkness.


	2. Threads of Fate

Slowly, Vax awoke. His eyes blinked open and he found himself staring at a stone ceiling no more than seven feet above him. He was lying on a floor—probably also made of stone, from the feel of it—and as he extended a hand to the side, he could feel that the floor was covered in loose leaves, moss, and a touch of dirt. Was this what the afterlife was like? 

Gingerly, Vax sat up and took stock of his body and surroundings. He didn’t appear to be injured, and he still had all of his gear; even the knives remained in place. As Vax looked around, he could see that he was inside some kind of alcove that had been carved out of stone. There were three walls and one open entrance just a few feet away (no door). Not quite able to see clearly from where he sat, Vax stood up and walked to the entrance, only to stop dead in his tracks. 

The room outside the alcove was filled with gold. 

Gold thread, specifically. The room itself might have the same stone walls as the alcove, but it was difficult to tell because every surface was covered in these shining lines. The walls, the floor, the small table and chairs…everything was wrapped with golden threads. There must have been thousands of them. 

And standing in the midst of these threads, her black form contrasting sharply with her surroundings, was the Matron of Ravens. She had her back to him, and appeared to be examining one of the threads. 

The breath caught in Vax’s throat as he noticed her. He remained still, but the Raven Queen did not acknowledge his presence. Glancing down at the floor, Vax could see a swarm of threads just on the edge of the alcove. Would it be alright if he stepped on them? Deciding to risk it, he slowly extended his foot and lowered it onto the threads. They didn’t react, and when he lifted his foot again, they looked exactly the same as before. 

With more confidence, Vax walked forward into the golden room, ducking a few times to avoid the filaments hanging from above. When he was within five feet of her, the Matron of Ravens paused in her examination and slowly turned to face him. Vax shivered at the sight of her mask’s blank white eyes. 

“Am—” His voice came out as a croak, so Vax cleared his throat and tried again. “Am I dead?” 

She stared at him for a moment before replying, “No. You are in my home.” 

Vax glanced around the room again, wondering how someone could live here. “I thought that was our deal,” he said cautiously. “My life for my sister’s.” 

The Raven Queen extended a hand towards him, and Vax instinctively took a step back. She stopped, tilting her head to the side. “Yes. She has her life, and now I have yours.” She lowered her hand and pointed at his chest, right where his heart would be. “I know your fate, Vax’ildan,” the Matron of Ravens continued, “and your thread is not destined to break just yet.” 

For a few seconds, Vax stared at her, until it finally clicked. Shock coursing through him, he took a second look at the golden lines that surrounded them. 

“Yes…these are the souls of every mortal,” the Raven Queen confirmed. He could feel her watching him closely. “Each tells the fate of a single person—when they are born, when they will die, and who they will meet in their lives.” She held up the single thread that she had been examining earlier. “Take a closer look.” 

Vax swallowed nervously, but walked forward. He noticed that the temperature grew chillier the closer he got to her. Once he was within a few feet, the Matron lifted the thread up, clearly intending to hand it to him. Vax accepted the thread, and was relieved that the two of them did not make skin contact this time. Slowly, he turned the golden line around in his hands. It looked the same as all the others—gold, thin, glowing slightly. It even felt like real thread. Tugging it gently, he noticed that it was it was connected to the other filaments on the floor, with only a few feet of line gliding free from them. 

A cold hand gripped his wrist, and Vax tried to jerk away without thinking. The hand held fast, and he looked up into the expressionless mask once again. “You’re not looking correctly,” the Raven Queen said, and Vax couldn’t tell whether she was angry or not. Her voice was as blank as her face. “You are too focused on its physical appearance.” The goddess moved her hand so that it now covered his own, curling his fingers inward so that they completely wrapped around the thread. She leaned in close, moving in that unsettling way again. “Close your eyes,” she whispered. “And feel it.” 

Vax’s breathing picked up at the proximity of this unnatural being, and his hand felt like it had been encased in ice. Every instinct told him to run away…but he was a man of his word. He’d made a deal. Even if the Matron had interpreted it differently than he’d intended, Vax knew that he couldn’t bring himself to break it, especially since that would mean forfeiting Vex’s life. 

So instead of fleeing, Vax closed his eyes and tried to focus on the thread. 

He thought about how it felt in his hand, how warm it was (particularly in contrast to the Raven Queen’s frost-laden grip), and so on. He tried to think about the soul it belonged to—someone out there who had family and friends…maybe even a few enemies, if they were like him. 

After an indeterminate amount of time, the thread grew warmer. And warmer. And warmer. 

Before long, it was so hot that Vax could barely hold it anymore. He wanted to let go, but the Matron held his hand closed, and he doubted he could escape her grip. So Vax grit his teeth against the pain and refocused on the soul. What kind of person was this? What did they want out of life? 

A face flashed across his closed eyelids. Vax inhaled sharply, startled by the sudden image. It was blurry, so he couldn’t make out any details—just the person’s general appearance. Lighter skin, black hair...and just as Vax felt that the image was beginning to come into focus, a rush of thoughts flooded his mind. 

I love you 

I don’t want to leave 

They hate us 

Let’s go 

We’ll make it together 

Be careful 

You’re all I have 

What did you do

Vax gasped and opened his eyes, meeting the white gaze of the Raven Queen. “That—That was Vex!” he exclaimed, his voice echoing off the walls. “This—” Vax looked down at the shimmering thread in his hand and felt his stomach tighten. “This is Vex.” 

The Raven Queen released her grip. “Yes. Well done.” She inclined her head towards the thread. “Your sister’s thread broke yesterday, so it was in need of repair.” The Matron touched a lower part of the golden line, drawing Vax’s attention there. Indeed, the otherwise smooth thread had an imperfection—a slight bump where it had been sown back together. 

A cold finger touched his chin, and Vax felt his head tilt up until he met the blank eyes again. “This is why you are here,” the Raven Queen murmured, and for a moment Vax almost thought he heard warmth in her voice. “It is difficult to manage these threads alone. Will you help me?” 

I don’t really have a choice, anyway, Vax thought bitterly to himself. But then he felt the thread in his hand and sighed aloud. 

“What do you need me to do?”


End file.
